


Free to drift

by TheShadowSwan



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, One Piece
Genre: BAMF Skull (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Cloud Flames are OP, Female Skull (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Gen, Skull is a mother hen, Skull's collection of Orphans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25527652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShadowSwan/pseuds/TheShadowSwan
Summary: Drifting in a world where Freedom is something understood by many of the Top Players is something else... Especially when one drifts with her Family.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 428
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts





	1. Shackled Cloud

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: KHR belongs to Amano-sensei and her publishers and OP belongs to Oda-sensei and his publishers. Idea's mine :)
> 
> Beta-read by SuspiciousKiwi :*

Skull was The Weakest Arcobaleno.

That was the part people usually stopped trying to learn about her. The weakest of the seven. Lackey, they called her… Useless, unreliable, not worth the trouble of taking care of her… 

And yet…

Skull de Mort was Arcobaleno.

She was The Strongest Cloud in existence.

Skull was anything but  _ Weak _ .

And yet…

_ They _ never saw that… So sure of their power and knowledge… so  _ arrogant _ .

They forgot that Skull was civilian, they took her sensibilities for weakness.

They forgot that Skull was an entertainer, they took her act as truth.

They forgot that Skull wasn’t a fighter, they took her gentleness for weakness.

They forgot that Skull was Cloud, they took her little rebellions as her character.

…

But she was a Cloud.

She was  _ the Cloud _ .

So when The Man in Iron Hat came with an offer she couldn’t refuse… All of her instincts screeched with alarm.

Many people tried to shackle her. To break her instincts and make her into guard dog they could parade around.

So she made sure that no one would want  _ that _ Cloud. Not others, that were being led by the goose by Man in Iron Hat. 

Especially after she actually met them.

Arrogant…

Eager…

Too blind to see the trap they were all walking into…

Too drunk on their power to see how the Sky was manipulating them all, until it was too late.

Skull wasn’t like that…

She was not part of them.

And they knew it…

…

Where they expected quiet, violent individual, Skull gave them cheerful, pacifist.

Where they expected her to jump on the occasion to destroy and kill, Skull reigned those instincts in and theoretically shied from the blood. 

Where they expected her to be quiet and willy, Skull portrayed herself as loud and clueless.

Where they expected her to be as ready to portray her strength as they were and take part in the dick measuring contests they’ve had, Skull bit her tongue and simply went with the flow…

Finally where they gave up on her and started jeering at the ‘false Cloud’ she took place of a getaway driver on their mission… And showed them the freedom  _ driving _ could give person.

…

When the trap finally sprung…

When they woke up from where they fell unconscious…

When  _ they _ were raging at the betrayal, Skull sat back quietly seething.

She knew she’d be shackled.

She knew there was no escape.

She knew there was nothing she could do to avoid it…

And yet she hoped that if she’d be  _ useless _ enough they’d drop her. That she could be  _ free _ …

It didn’t happen.

She was sitting among raging Elements, looking in despair at the shackle around her neck.

_ The pacifier _ …

Like being in the body of a toddler wasn’t an insult enough.

They had to stick a  _ pacifier _ on her…

And by The Gods, did it pacify them… Sucking on her Flames… Her Soul!

So she was not raging. She was  _ not _ going to give more of herself that she absolutely needed…

Or so she thought until the other Elements turned on her. Not on that fucking  _ Sky bitch _ … Nooo… On  _ her _ ! Like she was the one to lead them into this, like she was somehow at fault when they did anything to claim the title of The Strongest.

She snapped…

She let loose her up to the moment always controlled Flames…

She burned out a circle around her…

(Nothing grew in that circle even 40 years after they were cursed)

She turned all of her frustration, all of her anger on them.

Later when she turned her memory back to that day she remembered Flames… Purple Flames fanning those of other colours and turning them against their users. She remembered black eyes turning wide when she broke The Sun’s hand… She remembered scared indigo eyes of the Mist, when Skull was running towards her. She remembered the amount of Rain Flames needed to help Fon keep her down…

And she remembered how fast newly minted Arcobaleno forgot about that display.

…

After the curse… After fuckin Giglio Nero announced that new Arcobaleno were chosen… Skull remembered mostly running.

The tales of her as The Weakest already were spread out, so most of those wanting their own  _ Pet Arcobaleno _ turned towards her. And Skull…

Clear-headed after that one raging incydent, run to the only place that could help her hide and plan.

She run to Lastochki… All of the Swallows knew how it was to have no control over their lives. The Swallows knew exactly how it felt to have shackles on them. And they helped their sister in need.

They taught her how to refine her act.

They taught her how to travel as a child.

How to pretend to be a dwarf.

They introduced Skull to Bratva.

They introduced Skull to Arbakov Rodina.

They introduced her to other big players in Vory world.

And together they made sure that entire Russian Underworld would know that Skull de Mort, the Cloud Arcobaleno was one of them.

So when she re-appeared in the Western World, she knew that Giglio Nero had only The Sun Arcobaleno as an ally… Reborn he called himself. As pretentious and unsubtle as always.

She knew that Viper was dead, but that there was that suspicious toddler-like Mist in that assasination group Tyr, The Sword Emperor led… They were called Varia and were understood to be no more than Vongola’s attack dogs.

She knew that Fon went back to Triad to work as their neutral Enforcer.

She knew that Verde was defending himself and his freedom by murdering anyone that would go after him.

She knew that Reborn was barely holding onto his freedom and even that was mostly thanks to Vongola’s help.

She knew that Colonello (the poor idiot who tried to take Lal Mirch’s curse on himself) took an offer from Mafia Land and started taking care of security there.

She knew that Lal Mirch herself took up a position in CEDEF after Vongola’s Nono offer, making her third Arcobaleno to become affiliated with Vongola.

She also knew that Russian Underworld kept her own affiliation secret. That no one knew Skull was considered neutral party for all russian conflicts.

She knew that to the rest of the Underworld Skull de Mort was unaffiliated.

And she knew that no one would stand for it.

So she did the greatest con in the worlds history.

She  _ played _ them.

She played them  _ all _ .

She kept mostly out of Underworld eyes, confined to Her part of the Underworld, but whenever she took a job in the Western parts she made sure to be outgoing, loud and that her success would be written off mostly as luck.

She absolutely refused assassinations and every job involving minors.

She made sure to leak some  _ interesting _ information to the Vindice whenever she needed to leave Russia.

She even agreed to lead attack on Mafia Land once… 

(Mostly to see how Colonello dealt with entire thing. Unfortunately Sinclair… that is Reborn was there too… What a shame)

That was the role she played for over 40 years of being Arcobaleno…

Until it was time to be a Cloud once again.

√♥-√v--√♥-√v—

Of course everything was fault of a Giglio Nero…

Don’t get her wrong, Aria was pretty cool for a member of that Famiglia, but Luce was a bitch and her granddaughter didn’t make better impression on Skull.

Not only she wasn’t even trying to reach out to all the Arcobaleno but she also was stupid enough to believe in Reborn’s bullshit  _ and _ those visions of hers… As bad as her grandmother, seriously…

Somehow, the fact that she allied herself with Byakuran Gesso  _ and _ gave him a way to kill of Arcobaleno (and destroy the world that supposedly stood only because of those Soul-sucking  _ pacifiers _ on their neck) wasn’t really a surprise. The fact that rest of her so-called comrades decided to protect ickle Yuni with their lives wasn’t a surprise either…

But Skull  _ refused _ .

She sacrificed enough already.

She  _ would not _ let them hunt her like an animal.

She was  _ The Cloud _ .

And if they want to get her?

Let them fuckin  _ try _ .

So she made a big deal of how she considered Arcobaleno a family (it was a miracle she did  _ not _ laughed in their faces when they tried to convince her to go with them) and send off Reborn and Colonello with stupid, little Giglio Nero. 

Totally not because she was petty enough to want them to finally  _ feel _ guilt. She was absolutely not  _ that _ petty… Who was she trying to kid? Of course she was  _ that petty _ . 

She hoped they’ll  _ choke _ on that guilt.

Then she walked towards Byakuran fuckin Gesso and his forces.

“So you do see that you have no chance, don’t you?!” He cackled madly, seeing Skull leaving the treeline and moving towards the hundreds of mafiosi supporting him.

“Chance?  _ Boy _ , it never was about a chance” Skull managed to sneer out condescendingly. 

“Oh? Isn’t it? So what, you’re going to sacrifice yourself for a Sky that is not yours? For the  _ Arcobaleno _ ? We all heard tales about you. The Weakest Arcobaleno. The Lackey. Useless… Civilian!” Gesso boy was spitting venom with every word leaving his mouth. Skull was not sure what he wanted to achieve. 

Get her out of balance? Get her to surrender completely? Make her to charge at them like an idiot? Buy enough time for his forces to fully encircle her? 

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore. After all… Soon, she’ll be  _ free _ .

That  _ did not _ mean that she wouldn’t take as many of them as she could with her.

“So why are you scared?” She asked idly, absentmindedly tracking all Flame presences around her. Trying to ring her in. Because that what he was… The air around him was full of excitement and fear… His Flames were flickering with wariness. Hell, even his scowl looked more like a brave face being put on by a child than expression worn by someone who actually wasn’t scared.

Before he was able to answer her though, Skull  _ smiled _ . Full of teeth, predatory smile of a Cloud intending to  _ bathe _ in blood.

She haven’t come to him to  _ talk _ . 

Her right hand went up, towards the shackle around her neck and Skull simply  _ loved _ the way that upstart’s eyes warily followed her movement.

She was Skull de Mort.

The Woman Hated By Death.

She was The Strongest Cloud.

And it was time for her to  _ Rage _ !

There was a snap of a chain of her shackle… And then there was explosion of Cloud Flames.

√♥-√v--√♥-√v—

Next thing she knew, she was in a state she found herself in after every ‘deadly’ accident of her.

With milky fog surrounding her form and shadowy figures encircling her.

Radiating disapproval.

Skull found herself grinning at that.

She was dead. And they couldn’t kick her out this time.

She made sure to destroy her own body in her bid for freedom.

And since she was still there, wherever ‘there’ was, she had to succeed.

Otherwise she’d be already awake back in her own body and cursing The Death, as she calls the figures around her, up a storm. Trust her, that was not her first rodeo.

Staying dead was…

Not what she thought it would be.

There was no hell or heaven.

Her family didn’t come to greet her and take her to their resting place.

She didn’t even lost her awareness and became nothing.

No…

There was only Skull, Death and fog around them. For eternity and a half…

In fact… it was no different from the previous times she landed in here. Only that she actually stayed in the place.

That is until she felt that small part of her Soul that was connected to that infernal pacifier trying to suck her back. Back to the land of living… Back to that cage… Back to the  _ fools _ that thought her as  _ less _ … Back to being alive… Forever…

_ No! _

She refused!

NO!

She was  _ not _ going back down there.

She  _ will not _ be shackled again!

She  _ WILL NOT! _

…

Then there was only Purple Flame around her.

And her WILL and her REFUSAL.

(Some say that The Strongest Will could make the reality itself to bow down.

There was no stronger will than The Strongest Cloud fighting to not be shackled down again.)

Seconds…

Years…

Eons later Skull  _ lost _ .

…

She took in ragged breath.

√♥-√v--√♥-√v—

_ Back to life, huh? _

There was something in her lungs. She could feel is as clearly as the way that there was no longer that cursed radiation that  _ upstart _ released to weaken her and the others. Rather there was salty smell of the Sea. But… She died in the forest, didn’t she? Whatever it was… She  _ choked _ . And while not doing anything about it was tempting, she just had proven to her that even complete obliteration of her body would not keep her dead…

She started coughing the water out of her lungs…

Then there were warm hands on her.

Turning her around, keeping her up, above something wet and cold and so-not-comfortable.

She was wet… Wet and cold…

It took less than a thought to have her Flames up and running. Licking at her body and warming her back up… Healing up her wounds… 

Causing amusing yelp of whoever it was that was trying to keep her above whatever it was she was laying at.

The warm hands released her body.

Her own arms snapped to keep her from face planting.

Her eyes snapped open…

She was on wet sand.

There was water coming and going in waves… Reaching towards her boots, before the heat of her Flames evaporated it.

Her hands were still in the fingerless gloves she was using whenever she needed better grip on a wheel… But… She could swear she had no gloves at her  _ last stand _ … There was no time for her to even grab gloves when it all started…

Her forearms were hidden by her favoured leather suit from  _ before _ … Before the I Prescelti Sette. Before the curse… Before the Arcobaleno… 

_ What? _

She hefted herself up and turned towards two very weak Latents she could sense close up.

The beach they were at was close to the tundra forest, which  _ did _ explain why it was so cold… Was she in Russia again?

_ No matter, she’ll learn about anything soon. _

She focused on the people she sensed earlier.

There was a tall looking blonde, looking at her with wariness only Russian Underworld and not so long ago fuckin Byakuran Gesso treated her with. He had red  _ something _ over his head, coat of black feathers and scenic makeup. All in all he looked like he wouldn’t be out of place in her old circus.

The man was in stance Skull knew very well… It was the stance she was using around Arcobaleno more often than not - the one allowing her not only to avoid all the attacks but to also make it look like a total  _ accident _ .

Then there was a boy. Hiding behind the man’s legs. Little one hidden under too big cloak and with white furry hat. He looked…  _ sickly _ . And not only because of white patches on his face.

Little One was looking at her in wariness as well… With undercurrent of  _ awe _ …

_ Why would…? _

_ Oh! She still had Flames out… _

_ And Vindice didn’t came yet?  _

_ Underworld, then. _

Skull stayed low at the sand that was quickly getting dry and warm thanks to the Flames still flickering over her body. There was no  _ reason _ to provoke the man to attack. There was no reason for her to  _ kill them _ .

“Where am I?” The words barely left her throat when she winced at the hoarseness of them and quickly directed more Flames towards her throat in hopes that her vocal cords could be fixed without visit in Mafia Land hospital. She really didn’t want to know what happened to the radiation and Millefiore Famiglia. 

But every worry about her voice, Mafia Land, Millefiore Famiglia and possibly meeting stupid little Giglio Nero, Byakuran Gesso or her fellow  _ sacrifices _ evaporated with the answer.

“North Blue.”

_ What? _

“What?”


	2. Strange New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: KHR belongs to Amano-sensei and her publishers and OP belongs to Oda-sensei and his publishers. Idea's mine :)
> 
> Beta-read by SuspiciousKiwi :*

“What…?” And if her voice was a bit faint… Well no one could blame her… Of course, she was  _ not _ great in geography (in those 40 years in a toddler form she never bothered to go above masters degree in geography) but she would remember learning about something called ‘North Blue’. Wouldn’t she?”

“Well, Swallow Island in North Blue” The man specified, relaxing a bit.

Of  _ course _ that didn’t help her either. Was North Blue an island chain? Or some kind of sea? Where  _ the hell _ was that?

Skull moved slowly to get more distance from the seawater behind her and weakened her Flames to get them out of visible range. Of course anyone with even a scrap of sensitivity around Flames would know that they were still there and ready to be used, but… Surprisingly both males relaxed at the action. Which… what?

Skull focused a bit to get a better sense on those two and…

They had  _ NO _ Flames…

Like… at all!

There were Souls in them, she could sense it but  _ no Flames _ … 

_ How? _

The dread she felt from the second she took in that breath, came back with vengeance.

_ What _ was going on?

Last she checked only those already Active or those high up at the chain of command  _ knew _ about Flames.

Yet… They had so weak presence they barely registered as Latents on her radar… And there was no way they  _ were _ high up that chain. And they were somewhere she haven’t heard about…

_ What? _

Yeah… Okay, amnesiac route then.

“North Blue?” Skull put all of her acting lessons to use to put just enough confusion to be believable. There was no need to be heavy handed with this. Not everyone was as easy to play as her fellow ‘Arcobaleno’.

The man before her sat down heavily, apprehension slowly filling up his gaze.

“One of the 6 great Oceans?” The Little One asked with the heavy undertone of ‘are you  _ stupid _ ?’ causing the man to crack helpless smile at her. Smile she couldn’t really reciprocate. North Blue? Great Oceans? What? However counting the Oceans… Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic  _ did not _ make 6. Never mind the names being wrong.

Well… One  _ could _ call Arctic Ocean a North Ocean, North Blue even but… it was too warm for them to be next to Arctic Ocean… Even at summer.

So…

Where was she?

Did… something go wrong when she was fighting to  _ stay _ dead?

“Wha…?” She managed weakly, this time not even feigning the feeling of being absolutely lost.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” The man asked quietly, lighting up the cigarette.

Oh, she  _ remembered _ , alright…

Her Flames… Blood, bodies deformed by her Propagating their cell growth in the mockery of that fucking  _ radiation _ , trees she thrown at them, tearing apart her enemies… destroying bullets flying towards her…

She remembered taking over half of the Millefiore forces with her. She remembered putting the  _ fear of Clouds _ into them all. She remembered carving scar into that  _ boy _ that dared to attack her.

None of those she was willing to admit though.

“... Fighting. I remember fighting” She murmured, keeping her eyes on the man and senses thrown wide to make sure no one was sneaking in on them. If she was cast out of the Afterlife  _ again _ she was going to show her displeasure here. Wherever that ‘here’ was.

“And the date?”

“I… no” By the end no one cared about dates. The very atmosphere was trying to kill them, who cared about time?

“It’s 11th June of 1511 of Kaiden calendar” The man told her and Skull simply knew that her eyes were blank with incomprehension, because what?

Kaiden Calendar? 1511? It was 2019 when she died. And even if she’d somehow be thrown back in time (She’d come to expect all matters of fuckery with The Man in Iron Hat around. Being thrown back in time was nothing compared to being shrunk to the form of a two year old.), they wouldn’t be wearing those kind of clothes.

So once again…  _ What? _

Was it… Was it one of those alternate worlds Gesso-brat was cackling about? Or was she sent into the future? One where Global Warming finally won and flooded the continents?

“I’m Corazon. Do you know your name?” The man… Corazon brought her back from her freak out with that question.

Should she?

Well, what was the worst that could happen?

“... Skull. Skull de Mort” She introduced herself slowly and just as slowly rose to her full height (not that it was much) to take in herself. Partly to reinforce her ruse and partly to check out what condition was she in.

She swayed a bit but managed to keep on her feet, with just a bit of Propagation to reinforce her muscles.

She was indeed clothed in her old leather suit, padded enough to pretend to be actually reinforced for whenever she’d fall and hurt herself enough that normal people would not walk it out.

“I’m Law.” Quiet, childish voice caused her to ignore the mystery of her form ( _ what was going on? _ ) and focus on Little One’s… Law’s introduction. He was standing a bit ahead of Corazon (still within arms’ reach…  _ Good…  _ He was  _ not _ stupid.) and looking at her curiously. 

And what do you know? Those white patches on his skin was kind of cute…

“Hello Law, it’s nice to meet you” She forced herself to form a warm smile. Whatever was happening, those two were probably her best bet for survival. “Were you the ones to fish me out?”

“No, we found you washed out on the beach” Boy announced and came a bit closer to her, pointing at something around her face “What do you have in ears?”

_ Trust children to ask important question. _

Her hand went towards her ear, a bit self-consciously and found familiar shapes of her old studs packed in her earlobe. 

Another thing she lost when put in Arcobaleno-sized body… Something she never got back even when they were properly sized by the end…

“Those are earrings” She explained patiently, with nostalgic smile. If she had those ones… Did it mean that she had all of her old earrings and tattoos? Was she… Was she  _ back _ ?

“But those are not rings!” The child protested with indignation. At that both adults could only burst out laughing…

Ahh… Laughter was good.

Skull wiped out tear that tried to escape her eye and grinned at the little guy.

“They’re all called earrings though, this one is called that too” She explained, raising the part of her hair that was falling freely and hiding silver dragon that was hugging her right earlobe.

“And the one at your brow? Is it an earring too?” He demanded, at which she felt her grin widen… Smart little guy, wasn’t he?

“Nope.” She gleefully made ‘p’ pop. The brat was reminding her of Cherep. Her brother was just as curious. “The ones not in ears are called simply piercings.”

“Do you have more?” 

“Hmm? I wonder…” She hummed theatrically and flashed the piercing in her tongue. Children were the best… Those amazed, little faces… They were reasons for her becoming stunt rider… They and the adrenalin, but well… Something told her, there would be no shortage of adrenalin in her new situation.

“Whoa… Why do you have so many of them?”

“I like them. Do I need other reason?”

“Oh… No.”

“That’s right Law. Remember that woman’s body belongs only to her.” Corazon cut in, clearly deciding to use her as an object lesson. Well, she couldn’t contest needing that lesson to sink in. For all his guise of gentleman Sinclair never learned it after all. Then he spoke to her. “Would you come with us to the camp? You look like you need a meal or two”

“And a bit information about the world would be nice too” She gave him wan smile, as if just coming back to her lack of memory.

Corazon smiled agreeably and stood up (holy… he was  _ tall _ !), turned around and started to lead them towards where she presumed their camp was. 

Skull felt little hand grabbing her own and smiled down at suddenly shy Law, before letting herself to be led by the two of them.

It was time to get some info~

√♥-√v--√♥-√v—

The fire was crackling merrily in the small camp made out of a boat, small tent and two logs around a campfire. Skull was sitting on one of those logs and intently listening to whatever information Corazon was ready to divulge, while eating one of the fish they generously donated to her. And what information those were.

“So as I said earlier it’s 11th of june, 1511. We’re currently on Swallow Island in North Blue.” Corazon started, lighting up another cigarette (and somehow managing ot lit his coat as well, to her incredulous laughter and Law’s resignation. It seemed like it wasn’t anything special) “Entire planet is being sectioned by the mountain chain connecting both North and South Pole - the Red Line and the Sea we’re calling The Grand Line. Grand Line is hugged from both sides by something called Calm Belt.” Explaining, Corazon tried to draw lines in the sand that would work as a pictures, but… well, he was  _ not _ an artist, that was sure.

“Sectioned? Like in a cross?” That was what it looked at his drawing, but… well.

“Yeah, the sectioned off things are called Blues. There is East Blue, North Blue where we’re now, West Blue and South Blue.” Law piped up from where he was crouching, pointing to the proper parts of the ‘drawing’.

“So Grand Line is the one encircling the world?” This time it was Skull that pointed two rectangles on the drawing. Separated by that ‘Red Line’ Corazon was talking about.

“Yeah! With Calm Belts separating Grand Line from the Blues.” 

That was… Different. Fine, the world was still a globe, but there was no way her Earth would be able to be transformed to that form. Not like that. Soo… She was not in the future… 

_ Where _ was she then?

And did it really matter?

She had to live there anyway. Somehow Skull really didn’t want to know where she’d land if she’d try to die again.

“That’s right. The Blues’ names were decided by their placement in respect of the Mariejois. Which is here.” He pointed at the middle of the makeshift map and continued “On the other side of the Grand Line is something called Reverse Mountain that allows ships to get into the Grand Line. Some ships after achieving specific conditions are able to safely move through the Calm Belts. But that’s… really rare.”

“Why?” What was so scary about those ‘Calm Belts’?

“Calm Belts are patches of the Seas where there is no more wind. They’re also Sea Kings breeding grounds, so… Unless your ship has Seastone at the bottom or you have Conqueror Haki going there is a Really Bad Idea.” Corazon explained which…

Well… One answer, three more questions… Great, wasn’t it?

“Okay?” She  _ did not _ squeak… No matter what that little imp said “Sea Kings? Seastone? Conqueror Haki?”

And Corazon, the traitor had the gall to chuckle at her…  _ Chuckle! _

“Sea Kings are the great beasts living in the Seas. They usually have serpentine bodies, but can also look more like a seals… There are different ‘races’ so to speak. Like Sea Cow, Sea Bird, or Sea Cat. They most noticeable difference is their head and fins. They can get anywhere from 15 to hundreds meters.” 

That… Made her miss Oodako something fierce. Her little octopus which with proper Flame augmentation could get up to few hundreds meters himself… And… She’ll never see him again, won’t she?

Fuck Byakuran Gesso…  _ Seriously _ , she hoped that wherever the asshole was, he was  _ suffering _ .

“Okaay… Sea Kings, big animals, can swim, probably eat humans” She shortened his version to the most important parts and was rewarded with a smile from both the man and the boy…

The boy who was clambering onto her lap…

Didn’t he know to be careful around strangers? Even amnesia faking strangers… Scratch that.  _ Especially _ around amnesia faking strangers!

Corazon only looked amused at the panicked look Skull threw him.

“Now Seastone… Seastone is a metal mined on few islands in Grand Line. It’s terribly expensive and can act as defense against Sea Kings, apparently they hate it’s smell, or something like that. Which is why if the ship has hull coated in it then Sea Kings generally avoid it. Seastone is also used as a weapon against Devil Fruit users. It seeps away our strength so be careful of a metal with suspicious green shine to it.” Okaay… That was definitely new. And what the hell are Devil Fruits?

“Devil Fruits?” Skull voiced her question… There was that terrible feeling that she’d have a lot to learn to be able to function in this strange place she landed in.

“Yeah… Devil Fruits… Let me tell you about Haki and then we’ll go to Devil Fruits, k?” He smiled at her with warm understanding of someone who also had to learn about it all  _ fast _ . She could only nod mutely at that and squeeze the boy in her arms a bit tighter. “I’ve mentioned Conqueror Haki, it’s one of three forms of Haki. There are also Observation and Armament one. Haki itself is… Manifestation of our will”  _ So like… Flames? _ No wait, Flames even thought called Flames of Dying Will are more about Soul, thought their strength  _ is _ up to one’s will, so maybe? “Observation is the one that lets you to listen to the World itself and read out your opponents moves in the fight or when people are being truthful, when the storm is coming and others… Armament is used to defend oneself from hurt, it’s also used to be able to hit a Fruit user. People proficient in Armament can use it to coat with it their body parts or weapons to be able to use them more effectively.” He raised hand and extended it towards Skull and little Law. Slowly it blackened, then he leisurely chopped the log he was sitting at with it. The log split  _ ideally _ where it was hit. “Conqueror is… it’s pitting your own will at the will of the others. The loser is being brought to their knees or loses their consciousness. When the Conqueror is really powerful and careless, they can simply destroy their opponents’ minds with a wave. Questions?”

“How do you train Haki? Does everyone can use Conqueror?” She immediately raised two strongest concerns she had. Though… Theoretically she should be safe from that Conqueror one if only because the strength of the Flames was also determined by one’s will… And The Strongest Cloud had stubborness in spades… Well… The longer she was listening to Corazon, the more assured she was that she was no longer simply The Strongest Cloud… More like the  _ only _ Cloud in existence. But maybe those Devil Fruits were just a convoluted name for Flames?

With a bit of luck…

“To train Haki you’d need just learn how to twist your Will to achieve the results you want. After so called ‘unlocking’ your Observation would be low key active at all times, though it’ll always be stronger when your mind is clear. The same with Armament, you  _ can _ make it so you wouldn’t use it, but most of the times it’d be active. Especially when defending your body.” He explained, which… well did tell her it’s nothing like Flames, but didn’t tell anything about how to unlock the thing. “Now, the Conqueror… The Conqueror is the Form of Haki you’re either born with or not. Usually it goes in bloodlines. Unfortunately I know I don’t have it, so I’m not really sure how to help you check if you or Law have it.”

“Bloodlines you say, how rare is it?”  _ That… _ could pose problems.

“One in ten thousand? Maybe more” Corazon’s answer  _ didn’t _ calm her down. Even if it did lower the chance of meeting a Conqueror, alright. After all being a chance of being cursed to become living battery for the world and compressed into the body of a fucking toddler was almost non existing… And there was she and the others…

“Devil Fruits?” Skull prompted when it started to look like Corazon wouldn’t say anything at his own volition. Little shrimp in her arms also wiggled with interest.

(He was so  _ cute. _ )

“Devil Fruits are just that - fruits that give the one who ate them additional powers” Not like Flames then. That’s… Did anyone had Flames here? “They are usually visually similar to normal fruits but have the swirls and taste terribly. A person can eat only one Devil Fruit and live, remember that! Those who ate them are said to be hated by the Sea itself and lose all buoyancy, so you’re lucky to survive whatever it was that had you land in the water.”  _ What? _ Did he thought her Flames were Devil Fruit? … That… wasn’t bad cover. At least before she’d be strong enough to defend herself from whatever scientists were there. “Similar to Seastone seawater seeps out our strength, so unless there is competent swimmer around, you should be really careful when it comes to your balance near the Sea. Even not seawater can be deadly for us, so be careful, you hear me?”

“Gotcha… ‘us’, though?” 

“Yeah, I have a Fruit as well, so keep me out of water when we’ll sail out?”

_ We? _ Would he really take on a stranger with them? Just like that?

“We?”

“Well we couldn’t leave you alone in the world you don’t remember, could we?”

Huh… So he would.

“I… thank you Corazon.” Skull managed a smile that was somehow shaky around the corners. Just enough to still be a ‘victim’. Then she adjusted the Little Shrimp that was starting to get a bit boneless in her embrace. What kind of child would simply fall asleep on a stranger? 

_ What were those people? _

Corazon visibly hesitated before talking again.

“Rosinante… My name is Rosinante.”

“Rosinante then.” She smiled warmly again, too grateful for easy source of information to try and work out why would he hide his name (other than obvious caution near an unknown that is) “Thank you”

“Tomorrow I’ll tell you about The Three Powers and the factions of the people living here. You’ll need to remind yourself how to sail as well… So much work” He sighed theatrically… 

_ He _ had a lot of work ahead? 

What was  _ she _ supposed to say then? None of the things he told her about were in mildly familiar…

“I’m sure relearning things is more troublesome than teaching them.” She raised her eyebrow before hefting little bratling up and adding teasingly “Especially since shrimp-chan in here should also know about them”

“True enough.” Corazon agreed mildly and light another cigarette “Go to sleep Skull. We’re setting sail in the morning”

“Good night Rosinante.” She agreed, raising up and crawling up to the tent she was supposed to rest with bratling.

All in all it wasn’t so bad situation she found herself in…

Well, she was in a  _ strange _ new world, but there was someone who took pity on her and was going to not only explain things, but if Skull would be lucky maybe even give her some practical experiences…

It certainly beat the way Arcobaleno were expecting their ‘civilian’ Cloud to assimilate knowledge and experience…


	3. It gets even Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: KHR belongs to Amano-sensei and her publishers and OP belongs to Oda-sensei and his publishers. Idea's mine :)  
> Beta-read by SuspiciousKiwi :*

Whoever said that ‘in the morning everything looks better’ was a liar and should be severely punished…

Nothing was better…

The world still didn’t make any more sense than yesterday… Devil Fruits, Haki and all… There was still no Flame signature anywhere near her sensing range (she was never as good at it as Fon or Viper, but she was still  _ fucking _ good, alright?). And she was still stranded on the island with the little boy and the man who was taking care of said boy…

Speaking about those two…

Skull woke up with a start, turning defensively with little Law in her arms and almost decking the blonde that helped her yesterday… Rosinante.

Both of the males laughed it out but she still felt bad for the way she almost greeted him.

Luckily Law’s quiet chatter while they cleaned up the camp was something, she could safely focus and not attack the ones making sure she wouldn’t do anything exceedingly stupid.

Case in point…

“And Cora-san is sooo clumsy. There were times I had to fish him out of water, but you’re stronger than I am, aren’t you?”

“I would certainly hope so, Bratling.” She  _ would _ be pretty offended if it turned out that little bratling would be physically stronger than her… Though the clumsiness is a bit too light of a word to explain how the man managed to set his own  _ coat _ on fire while lighting up a cigarette… Multiple times.

“Oi! I’m not so clumsy.” As if fate had it… The second ‘Cora-san’ as Law was calling him protested his clumsiness was also the moment he tripped on the empty air. 

… 

Seriously, who let the man onto the sea with a child?

Speaking about the sea… Skull was able to finally check how she looked in the water and… Well she was happy to say that she looked almost exactly how she was before the curse. Without any makeup and with her hair in disarray, she did her best to keep under control, but her body… Her body was back to how it should be.

Wavy, purple hair fell back to half of her back, amethyst like eyes were looking out onto the world, her lips were quick to quirk into a smile. Her piercings were, where she last had them done. Her  _ adult _ face was heart shaped and her  _ adult _ body was looking exactly as the body of a grown woman should look like. No more being around 60 cm tall, no more baby clothes, no more looking up to see everything…

She was an  _ adult _ again…

She was  _ herself _ .

And that… was almost enough for her to forgive Death for kicking her from Afterlife again. Almost…

She was tired, okay?

After a quick breakfast (more fish…) they boarded a smallish boat and set sail…

Or rather Cora-san set sail with Law teaching Skull different knots and other basics…

Apparently being able to put up a circus tent was not enough to be able to sail on a boat… Who knew?

“Soo? Are you two related? Or are you simply running away to the circus?” Skull dropped the bomb with a forcibly disinterested voice, her fingers fighting with Boom Hitch, her eyes observing Rosinante like a  _ hawk _ . 

She didn’t get a vibe that would say that the bratling was with him against his will, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be tricked… And Skull… Skull not so long ago was dealing with a Rodina that thought selling kids to become little assassins was acceptable past time.

To his credit, it seemed like Corazon immediately caught what it was that she was asking about and looked at her seriously.

“Law is ill, we’re looking for a cure.”

In her lap, Law curled in himself, which… well... was quite  _ suspicious _ …

“Ill?” She prompted him just as disinterested as before. This time with her hand over little Law’s head, where it was trying to at the same time bury itself in her shoulder and in his own neck.

“It’s called Amber Lead Syndrome” Corazon shot her challenging look at which she only raised a purple eyebrow. “It’s caused by excessive Lead mining at the island.”

“Terminal?”

“Yes.”

“Spreadable?”

“No!” This time it was Law that answered. His little hands clawed into her forearms with determination “It’s not spreadable! I’m safe to be around!”

_ Well, that explained that challenge… _

“Shh…” She immediately left out the rope, she was training herself to be able to tie, to cradle the little boy in need of assurance. “It’s okay… It’s okay… No one here’s saying you’re not”

“Flevance, the island Law’s from was destroyed from fear of spreading of the illness.” Corazon explained gravely. Then he looked at her with a promise that should she show any sign of betraying them, she  _ would not _ leave the boat on the land. Skull could respect that kind of dedication. “We were kicked out from many hospitals already because of the rumours of it being in fact spreadable.” 

“Oh… Shhh… Law…” She managed to wrangle Law into sitting a bit further onto her lap, then she raised his face to look at her with a finger. “Little Law, look at me” She smiled warmly at the scared child that already lost everything “I’m not afraid of you” Skull made sure to make her voice ring true in the heart of the little boy. Poor him. “I’m not leaving. You still need to re-teach me how the world works, don’t you?”

“I… yeah!” Little Law nodded resolutely and let himself be gathered into a tight hug of the purple haired woman. 

“That’s right.” She squeezed him a bit more and turned herself back to conversation with the other adult “Where are we going now, Corazon?” 

“We’re sailing to the Ruck Island.” At that she was able to give him another empty stare… She had no idea where what was here, c’mon… “It’s… Here, see?” He took out a map from… wherever it was up-till-then to show her where they were and where the island was.

“Why?” It… didn’t look like it was too far from where they were, but still… why make that journey? Was there something to help Little Shrimp? 

_ It didn’t look big enough to have a good hospital. _

“There is a Fruit called Ope Ope no Mi. It can cure Law.” Devil Fruit? From his explanation it didn’t seem like Fruits worked that way…

“There?” She asked, pointing with her chin at the map… her arms were still full of a little boy after all.

“Yes, Pirate crew that has it, is going to sell it to the Marines on the island. We’re crashing the party.” Corazon smiled roguishly. A fit Skull didn’t believe possible in scenic makeup up to the moment. Not  _ that _ kind of scenic makeup.

“Pirates? Marines?” Okay, so ‘pirates’ were rather self-explanatory, but ‘marines’?

_ What? _

_ Wait… Wasn’t soldiers in naval forces called like that? _

It… Would make sense… What with the way Corazon explained the world.

“Oh yeah… I was supposed to explain more, wasn’t I?” The man grinned at her disarmingly… As if Skull would believe even for a  _ second _ that he simply forgot…

“You were. Get to it” She demanded, curiosity burning.

“Cora-san and me are pirates” Law piped up at which Corazon nodded agreeably… Though it looked a bit pained to her experienced eye.

“That’s right, we’re part of Donxiquote Pirates led by my brother” Donxiquote… They didn’t name Pirate Crew using anagram of Don Quixote, did they? So? Name of some other island? Maybe a city? A surname?

“And pirates… are?” She smiled sweetly… Bratling was a bit  _ too young _ for the whole rape and plunder for her tastes…

“Oh, right. So… it’s complicated” He laughed sheepishly and at Skull’s unimpressed stare quickly started explaining the entire thing “Sooo… There is a thing called The World Government, which rules almost the entire planet. The World Government is controlled by The Group of Tenryuubito called Gorosei, where Tenryuubito are the families that by the end of Void Century created the World Government. World Government gives kingdoms their protection in the form of Marines being stationed on or at least near their islands in exchange for taxes and upholding Government’s laws. Marines have military structure with Fleet Admiral on top, 3 Admirals, 6 Vice-Admirals,12 Rear-Admirals etc. You’ll recognize them by white uniforms. Officers are wearing coats with ‘Justice’ written on it.” Not only did Corazon have word vomit on the topic, but also the gall to shoot her cheeky smirk and a question. “Following for now?”

_ Strangling one’s information source is a bad idea… _

_ Very, very Bad Idea… _

“White uniforms, Coats with ‘Justice’ strong, try not to piss off” She summarised after taking a deep breath.

Her reward was Rosinante’s slowly sliding smirk… Such a  _ pretty _ sight.

“Yeah… Something like that.” He agreed with a slight grimace. Then he clapped his hands with an unholy smile that if she’d see on ‘Reborn’s’ face would alarm her something fierce. Pity that Corazon  _ clearly _ didn’t hold the candle to the chaos her fellow  _ sacrifice _ could raise out of simple boredom. Though she  _ did _ listen more closely for the undercurrents of his next words that she would otherwise. “Now, other than Marines there are 4 other important factions. Let’s start with the Bounty Hunters. Generally don’t bother Marines and aren’t bothered by them in turn. They go after bounties put up by both Marines and the other fractions. It’s safe to assume that as long as you don’t have a price on your head, they won’t bother you, either.”

Huh… That sounded like Cleaners back home… Maybe more like Hitmen on a second thought. Cleaners were chasing down only those that got bounties posted by the different Councils, never for those wanted by individual Groups or even just people.

So to summarise…

“Bounty Hunters - no pretty pictures warning about their achievements but neither will they bother with those without bounty.”

“Eh… Good enough.” This time Skull didn’t manage to get a full blown grimace out of Corazon,  _ but _ she  _ did _ get a giggle out of Bratling on her lap. “Then there is another faction - Mercenaries. Generally kicked around by members of other factions. They are  _ not _ hunted by Marines, but even though they  _ are _ used by them, they are not trusted. By anyone.  _ Always _ be careful around them. Bounty Hunters will at least give you a signal that you’re their prey. Mercenaries will not. Mercenaries sell their contracts to the higher bidder, but if their contract is bought, they’ll do everything expected of them.  _ Anything _ .” He stressed the last part seriously.

That… Sure sounded like a cross between Mafia Land Guilds and The Web for her. While Mafia Land had standards and did not take the contracts that  _ would _ violate them… Or from people who have ever violated them… The Web was free of those pesky things. They took all the contracts. And allowed everyone to at least try their hand at completing them.

“Okaay… Evil, wily, greedy mercenaries who’ll do anything expected of them in their contract” And wasn’t that nice, that she could quote word for word stereotypes of The Web’s employees or The Spiders how some were calling them.

Arachnophobia was rather widely spread among the upper levels of The Underworld.

“Well… That’s not wrong.” Corazon quirked his painted lips into a wry smirk. “Then there is another, this time highly political faction - Revolutionaries. They are the one to always, unceremoniously oppose World Government and Tenryuubito. They are the ones you can always trust to do exactly opposite of what Tenryuubito would like or do. Revolutionaries make a big deal out of wanting to help people under Tenryuubito’s  _ tyranny _ , but there are times where single, not involved individuals would be sacrificed by Revolutionaries to make a hit against the Government. Be careful around them” Corazon cautioned and… there were some bad memories there, weren’t there?

Well… forceful changes of regimes are never pleasant for people involved. Especially those involved unwillingly.

“Revolutionaries, oppose Government, will attack if I’d do anything that would help Government and would not defend if the news of my demise would be a hit to Government reputation” Saying it like that… That  _ did _ sound suspiciously similar to all those small Underworld Groups that tried to pop up and usurp some of the bigger players’ power. Always in the name of people living on their territories, of course.

“That’s the crux of the matter, yeah. And both Revolutionaries and the Government despise our next faction - The Pirates. Pirates are the most varied of the factions. There are those like Yonko Whitebeard or Yonko Redhair that are said to be honorable and who are actually protecting those taken under their wing, but then there are those like previous Yonko Shiki that don’t care about anything but their own personal goals.” Somehow Skull had a feeling that there were more of the ‘rape and plunder’ category than the ‘honorable’ kind… Well, nothing new, was it? “Pirates, even though they are fighting mostly against each other, have a hierarchy as well… There is a Pirate King who, once acknowledged, has enough sway to somehow control other crews, there are Yonko - 4 Emperors with territories under their protection, there are Shichibukai - 7 Pirates serving Government in exchange for freezing their bounties… Always be careful around pirates Skull”

That… sounded like good advice.

At least until Skull could measure herself against them to check how her Propagation stands against their trained Haki and Devil Fruits… 

“In which category would you put Donxiquote Pirates?” She inquired gently… The fact that he did not mention the crew in his overview did not pain a nice picture… But maybe she was just projecting.

“Don’t come close to my brother.”

_ Or maybe not. _

“I see…” Skull murmured, looking down at the once again napping child. The disease was taking its toll on the little body, wasn’t it?

Suddenly she stopped questioning why Corazon took him onto the sea.

…

Onto different topic then, yeah…

“Are there people who did not join any faction?” There are always Civilians and some fringe groups… Better to find out about them before first meeting.

“Well there are of course normal citizens”

“Of course there are” Civilians are everywhere… Hell there were Civilians even on a fucking Mafia Land. For the given value of the word.

“There are bandits, who everyone is trying to cull down.” Also plague of every society, uncouth thugs deciding simple crimes were the way to live by. “Slavers are also being attacked by everyone, unless in some special circumstances that is. The act of enslaving people is illegal, but owning a slave is not…” That… sounded like something Skull would like to sicc Vindice on… She truly detested human trafficking and was more than happy to take on jobs that would have her… show them the errors of their ways. It looked like she could take it up again. “And of course the species outside of World Government jurisdiction.”

So all in all standard stuff…

_ Wait a second… _

“Species?” And if she sounded a bit faint? The most they were dividing humanity back at home was by ‘races’ and of course affiliation… Here they were dividing themselves by ‘species’? What kind of bullshit was it?

“Fishmen, Mermen, Minks, Giants, Dwarves etc” Corazon counted off and Skull got a really bad feeling… That… did not sound like he was talking about only humans.

“Seriously?”

“Yup. We live in an interesting world.”

“No kidding…” She murmured rebelliously… “Tell me more about them?”

“Which ones?”

“Does it matter? We have time”

“We do” Rosinante agreed, straightening himself as much as possible on the little boat they were at. “Practice that knot while talking?” He suggested, passing her a rope, so she could practice tying it without jostling Bratling on her. She probably should put him down, but… Well call her soft hearted. “Fishmen and Mermen are species living under the water.” He waited until she started to clumsily tie and untie Boom Hitch in repetitions. There are some things that had to be learned the hard way. “They are… well half-fishes in different proportions. Mermen and mermaids have the upper body of a human with fish tails from where humans would have hips, down. Fishmen and fishwomen on the other hand have silhouette similar to humans, they’re just coated in fish scales. Both species take on different sizes and characteristics of different fish. Like stripes, sharp teeth or long noses. Their best known island is called Fishman Island and is directly under the Red Line. At roughly the same spot that Tenryuubito’s Mariejois, just 20 km under it.”

_ Fascinating… _

“Do they breathe under water?” She asked, getting excited against herself… She always liked the original version of the Little Mermaid.

_ Would there be Ursula somewhere?  _

_ Huh… In those conditions would Ursula be a fishwoman or a mermaid? _

“They both can breathe under and above the water.” Rosinante answered, openly amused at her enthusiasm. Did they even had The Little Mermaid in this place? Then he became much more serious. “The youngest would sometimes try to visit the closest human islands…”

That… did not seem like a good idea. Unless humanity in this strange place was much more tolerating than back home.

“They’re not greeted with a smile, I take it?” She decided to take a shot in the dark and got sardonic laugh as a reward.

“Smile? Well the slavers are always smiling at them.”

“Ouch…” Yeah, she doesn’t want to find out if her new and only ‘friend’ in this place had different views on freedom than a human from home. Nevermind a  _ Cloud _ . Most people had other interpretations of the word than a Cloud. “And those… Minks you called them? Are they slaves too?”

“If they are caught…” He grimaced. “Minks live on a moving island called Zou. They mostly stay completely isolated and as such are considered more of a legend than a reality.”

“Unless they can be sold for a pretty penny” Skull grimaced as well and  _ almost _ missed the surprised face Rosinante has pulled at that.

“Penny?”

“Umm… a currency?”

“Beli you mean”

”Okay, can be beli” She smiled.

“Now, the Giants… Giants are mostly living on the island of Elbaf and as the name of their species say… they are rather tall. Their culture is that of a warrior and so even though they are not under the ‘protection’ of World Government they can be found in the Marines’ ranks. Mostly because of their ability to fight. A lot of people will tell you that the Giants are not good strategists but decent tacticians… That is a lie. Giants can live much longer than any human and so their strategies are mostly long-term.”

“I see…”  _ Much longer than any human, huh? How long can a human live here, then? And how long will she live before being reborn? _

“The last of the races you would probably meet are Dwarves. Tiny race which can get up to 15cm in height. They mostly live hidden at coasts of the Kingdom of Dressrosa, at the Green Bit island and are completely ignored by the humans living near them. But… The Dwarves have excellent spy network and are willing to part with information for a coin”

“Noted” She laughed… How come Dwarves are considered ‘greedy’ by almost every human, ever?

Still… that was quite a lot of information to assimilate at once… She closed her eyes and scrunched her brow to stave off incoming migraine.

“Skull?”

“Migraine” She hissed unhappily.

“Lay down, we’ll continue explanations once you’re back to yourself”

Back to herself? That’d take a lot more time than just getting rid of the affliction. But… Laying down a bit would be nice.

Skull send a smile to Rosinante and curled down with a Bratling between her arms. 

Maybe this strange new world would not be so bad?


End file.
